Much of life is lived on the surface, superficially, accidentally, and without deep thought. People are often busy, distracted, and unfocused. However, those who have experienced pain in their lives have been transformed in the process and display a depth of life and thinking that is radically different from the norm. If you are one of those, you have been given a great gift and God wants to use that gift to influence others.

There is nothing like faith, forged in suffering. Each of the faith heroes of Hebrews 11 had a suffering-forged faith that gave them an unshakable trust and confidence in the living God, and they were therefore willing to suffer and even die for Him. They displayed a perseverance and resolve that was unusual. Speaking of Moses, it says, “He persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). If God has met you in your pain, you, too, have seen Him who is invisible; you have felt His presence and experienced His love and grace.

That depth should have a direct impact on our jettisoning the sin that we have allowed to linger in the shadows of our lives. We exchange that sin for a wholehearted, non negotiated followership of Jesus. Why continue to live with the junk when we have experienced the fellowship of Jesus in a new way and been recipients of His generous grace? To do so is to negate the very lessons that God made possible for us to learn through our pain. 

The writer of the book of Hebrews puts it well: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” - Hebrews 12:1-3

Our pain reveals what is truly important. It reveals parts of our character that need transformation. It reveals sin that we have allowed to linger. Pain is the great revealer of sin, character, and dysfunction. Therefore, it is an opportunity to deal with those areas God wants us to deal with. Not to do so is to lose a great opportunity to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles so that we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Don’t short-circuit the opportunity to grow through authentic attention to the sin that your pain reveals. This is a part of God’s work and it is required for those who desire to go deep with him. The heroes of Hebrews 11 would tell us this: Don’t waste your pain. Use that pain to go deep with Jesus and to throw off the stuff that holds us back. Transform your broken dreams into a better and faith filled future. That is what David did, and Moses, and the heroes of Hebrews 11. Let's join that bunch by allowing God to transform us in our own pain. I can trace every major spiritual breakthrough in my own life to pain that I endured. Today, looking back, I say to myself, I never want to go through that again, but I would not trade its lessons for anything. What about you? 

Father, You are the author and finisher of our faith and You are able to turn broken dreams into something beautiful as You work in our lives. Do that in my life. I choose to trust You with my future. Amen.